THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 28, 1995 TAG: 9509270165
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines
PARISHIONERS OF St. Paul's Episcopal Church in 2095 will be billed $147.75 for services rendered in 1995.
That is the cost of two custom-built, metal boxes that now are filled with memorabilia and notes from this day and age.
The boxes will be buried Oct. 8, in the same cornerstones from which boxes buried in 1895 - 40 years after the church was built - were recently opened.
``We thought there was only one box, but inside was a piece of slate directing us to another one,'' said the Rev. H. Vance Mann III, rector. ``We think some of the things came from a church where our recreation building now stands. Some came from other churches dating back to the 17th century.''
The boxes contained money, the names of choir members, and periodicals which, because of age, are brittle and close to the breaking point.
The villain is moisture. The new boxes are stainless steel, airtight, and welded shut.
``We put as much as possible into them,'' Mann said.
There are money, newspapers, 1992 Olympic stamps and other items that will be of historical interest.
One envelope contains a note from Mann to the rector of 2095.
``It's a humbling experience - writing a letter to someone whose grandparents aren't even born yet. I'll probably have been dead over 70 years by the time it's read,'' said Mann, who is 54. ``My little letter contains some personal recollections, thoughts and struggles.''
Some of the parishioners enclosed notes to churchgoers of the latter part of the next century.
William W. Patterson's note is a mix of horror and hope: ``When we opened the box, I thought, `They didn't know what lay ahead in the next century, such as the Spanish-American War, WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, the Great Depression of 1929 to 1941, etc.''
``Now - what surprises lay ahead for 1995 to 2095? Of course, we will all be dead and with God. Let us hope it will be a more peaceful century.''
A note in the same vein was penned by Beth Evans: ``I'm wondering how the world is at this time - better, I hope, than it is now, in 1995.
``Our world is full of violence, drugs and disease (AIDS) and I honestly think something big will happen by the year 2000,'' she writes. ``I hope that your world is full of love, kindness and respect for one another, and filled with the Holy Spirit. God bless whoever reads this.''
A lighter note is from Catherine Randolph Bowen: ``I'm 13 years old and I'm in 7th going to 8th grade. I doubt my school will be around when you are here but I go to Forest Glen Middle School.''
Her 15-year-old sister, Rebecca Taylor Bowen, addresses the churchgoers of 2095: ``Hello to the youth of the church. I am a youth myself. I have been attending this church all my life. And I have attended all of the choirs. I hope you have fun here because I know I have.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MICHAEL KESTNER
The Rev. Vance Mann puts items in the time capsule at St. Paul's
Episcopal Church while Marion Watson and John Harrell wait to add to
the box, which will be opened in 2095.
by CNB